News from Mathnasium of Mesquite Sunnyvale

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“A Good Teacher is a Good Teacher for Anything that They Know”

Mathnasium’s Chief Educational Officer Larry Martinek appreciates great teachers! Larry is a teacher himself, having taught math for almost 30 years in L.A. City schools before co-founding Mathnasium in 2002. After all those years spent in the trenches, Larry knows that what it takes to BE a great teacher is both a lot simpler and a lot more complicated than you might think.

“[There are] so many different ways to teach. Some teachers, all they do is read out of a textbook. The alternative is to jump in the middle of it all, immerse oneself in the whole thing and get involved with kids. It’s from being with the kids that you learn how to teach.”

In honor of teacher appreciation week, we spent some time with Larry talking about his experience in the classroom, what makes a great teacher, the challenges facing educators today, and more.

What originally inspired you to go into teaching?

I guess it was around 4th grade realized I was pretty good at math. In 9th grade I spent all my lunch hour helping my friends with their math and algebra homework because it just came naturally to me. As I went through high school I took as many math classes as possible so I could position myself in the math world, although at that time I still wasn’t sure what that would mean or what I would become.

Then one day when I was about 21 years old, I asked my wife “How would you like to be the wife of a math teacher?” I had two years of college behind me, so I finished off my last two years and got my teaching credential. I started with L.A. City schools in 1974.

How did the experience live up to your expectations?

At that point I didn’t really have any expectations. I was fresh out of college, and everybody who’s a math major thinks they’ll teach in high school. But rarely does a brand new teacher go straight into teaching high school, seniority goes to the more experienced teachers. Instead, I ended up in an L.A. City middle school.

So I just started learning the job. Other teachers were taking night classes to get a master’s degree so they could move up the salary schedule, which is understandable. But I decided to take a different route, I decided to learn how to teach.

Tell us about a favorite memory you have of your time teaching.

Every moment that I teach, really.

One memory that stands out is in 1982 or ‘83 I was teaching in a gang diversion program, to kids who were one step away from the CA Youth Authority, and I had a kid who came up to me and said “I want you to be my teacher forever” I asked “Why is that?” He said, “Because you teach what the smart guys know.” That was really perceptive of him. He knew I wasn’t just giving him the easy stuff and blowing him off, that I was taking him and his life seriously.

Another one of the most wonderful experiences was when a group of kids I had taught in junior high, had their 30-year reunion, and they invited 6 teachers to come to the reunion. I was one of the teachers invited. To have been invited to participate in that, to know I had made an impact on them and to see how they had grown, was a wonderful point in my life. Good teachers hope to make an impact on their students, and obviously that happened.

How do you think teaching math is different than teaching other subjects? What unique skills would you say math teachers need?

I’m not clear that there are skills totally unique to math. A good teacher is a good teacher for anything that they know. The underlying things that are critical are the things that are important to teaching in general.

What would you say are the biggest challenges facing teachers today?

There’s been a raging battle in classrooms for the past 100 years: Should classrooms be homogeneous or heterogeneous? My last teaching assignment I had a class of 15 kids, and for that one class I made 7 lesson plans a day. These lesson plans were necessary, I thought, based on the varying ability levels of the students. So heterogeneous classrooms are a challenge.

Then there’s the fact that the US has never had national standards of any kind. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution says “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Education is not explicitly mentioned in the constitution, so officially the federal government has no constitutional role in education, it’s left up to states. This means that what a 3rd grader does in one state could be very different than what a 3rd grader does in another state. There’s an unevenness all over the landscape. An uneven topography of preparation of teachers, and of what they are required and expected to teach.

Mathnasium curriculum supports everything that goes on in school, at every level. But math is bigger than school. It has to be. Kids with long-term success are getting private tutoring, or their parents help them, or they have someone who's an inspiration in their life.

Do you have any advice for teachers out there right now?

At the risk of sounding trite: Fight the good fight. Whatever it takes to meet the needs of your kids, that’s what you should be doing.

Larry Martinek is the Co-Founder and Chief Instructional Officer of Mathnasium. His first teaching job was at an L.A. City middle school in 1974, where he says he “figured out pretty early that the textbook wasn’t going to work for most of my students. These seventh, eighth, and ninth-grade kids were academically at about the third-grade level. So I created my own material.” It was all these years spent teaching, creating material, training new teachers, and developing curriculum that eventually translated into co-founding Mathnasium

My son is more interested in math and he loves the subject now and he likes the instructors and he said they give him some challenging problems for him to solve (which he likes the most )whenever he is done with the regular portions.

I am so greatly pleased with Mathnasium, and the results that my daughter has received since she has been going there. As a result of the tutoring that my daughter has received from Mathnasium, she has gotten a 100 as her Math grade in Algebra 1for both of the nine weeks this academic school year. The teachers at Mathnasium are superb!!! They have a knack for explaining material so clearly, and efficiently that my daughter is able to understand difficult, and new concepts the very first time that they are presented. This school year is stress free as my eighth grade daughter is able to get the help that she needs to accomplish her.goals in her honors Math class. Mathnasium has made this happen. It is worth each and every penny that they charge. Once again, Mathnasium, and their excellent, and talented team of teachers have brought my daughter much success, and joy for a subject that in the past has been a dreaded one.

Mathnasium of Mesquite Sunnyvale Reviews

February 11, 2018

S.J.

My son is more interested in math and he loves the subject now and he likes the instructors and he said they give him some challenging problems for him to solve (which he likes the most )whenever he is done with the regular portions.

I am so greatly pleased with Mathnasium, and the results that my daughter has received since she has been going there. As a result of the tutoring that my daughter has received from Mathnasium, she has gotten a 100 as her Math grade in Algebra 1for both of the nine weeks this academic school year. The teachers at Mathnasium are superb!!! They have a knack for explaining material so clearly, and efficiently that my daughter is able to understand difficult, and new concepts the very first time that they are presented. This school year is stress free as my eighth grade daughter is able to get the help that she needs to accomplish her.goals in her honors Math class. Mathnasium has made this happen. It is worth each and every penny that they charge. Once again, Mathnasium, and their excellent, and talented team of teachers have brought my daughter much success, and joy for a subject that in the past has been a dreaded one.

It was a pleasure to come and speak with one of your representatives. He was very polite and professional and assisting me with math consultation. I would definitely recommend Mathnasium too anyone. Again, thank you for your time.
Mrs. [LAST NAME REMOVED]

Mathnasium in Mesquite Sunnyvale went far beyond my expectations. They are so easy to work with and clearly wants the best for each child. My daughter's confidence and understanding are vastly improved!

My grandson has been having problems for several years in math, but now he says that is making sense to him. He enjoys going to be tutored and he likes the people at this facility. I as so happy with the results and so is Wesley's mother. THANKS!!!!!!!

My 5th grade daughter just started going to Mathnasium about a month ago. She failed math the first nine weeks, failed the math starr last year, and she failed the first district check point with a 20! Although we are not where we want to be yet, her teacher says that she is improving. She says she can see her starting to reach more to grasp those concepts and that her attitude towards math is improving.her last district check point, which was a couple of weeks ago, was a 47, and although that is not so good, she more than doubled her score. She is showing her work and making more of an effort, I think because her confidence is building, and she is beginning to believe that she actually can do math after all. She didn't want to go to Mathnasium at first, but now she likes going! I like that they encourage us to come at least 3 times a week... It's not just a once a week tutoring session... you can go as often as needed.

We are very pleased with Mathnasium/Sunnyvale and the friendly staff! My boys are both improving in their math skills and really enjoy coming each week!
I think the prize rewards are fun idea to help motivate and my kiddos especially seem to have fun with it. They are always smiling when they leave. PS. I never smiled about math when I was their age!!

Our grand daughter was having great difficulty with algebra I. We brought her to your location for testing and tutoring. I was greatly pleased when after her very first session she said "I get it", - she was referring to graphing in algebra I.
She does tutoring four times a week - Monday to Thursday, seems to look forward to going.

Thank you!!!
Kira's confidence is building. She love the people and atmosphere.
Her teacher tells me all the time that she is improving and helping others in her class with math! I am so glad we found y'all!!

I absolutely love the caring and excellent learning environment provided by the staff of Mathnasium. My sons are not only improving their math skills but their level of confidence has improved in just a short time. This is a great place to learn and Mathnasium has given my sons excitement and love for school again.

I'm so thankful that I found a place close to home for Colin's tutoring. Everyone is so kind at Mathnasium and everyone goes beyond trying to help Colin succeed. I appreciate Christine very much she has been very professional.

Ryan Ward is a relatively new student at the Mathnasium, but after a few sessions in December it does appear that he is working harder, and his grades are starting to slightly improve. We feel that learning the basics are the key! Rich Crabtree, Ryans grandfather.

My son has only been going to Mathasium for about a month. In that short amount of time my son has come out of tutoring smiling and feeling more and more confident about his math. He even said one day climbing in the SUV one day, " I cannot remember the last time I felt this good about school." With a huge smile on his face. My only wish is that we had done this sooner for him. I am glad that his math skills have risen along with his grades and his confidence. Thank you Mathasium!

My 4th grader has been attending this Mathnasium for about 2 months and already he shows an increase in his confidence. He likes his tutors and seems to enjoy this method of teaching. This is definitely a great investment.